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Pages from John Williams Day book

(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.Contact us for information about using this image.

These pages from John Williams' day book show the types of goods people in Deerfield, Massachusetts were purchasing in the fall of 1783. Day books were kept by merchants so that they knew what, and to whom, was sold on a daily basis. Purchases by individuals were then transferred into the account book, which contained a running tally of the debits and credits for each person. During the American Revolution, goods had been very scarce because of the lack of imports. With the end of the war, goods were once again imported from England, and many items were again available. By 1783, people needed to replenish items after "making do" for many years.